Hopper for automatic stokers.



J. SIS. FULTON." HOPPER FOR AUTOMATIC STOKERS. APPLICATION FILED'OCT. 3|. I917- PatentedSept. 10, 1918.

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J. S. S. FULTON.

HOPPER FOR AUTOMATIC STUKERS. APPLICATION FILED on. 31. ten.

1,278,325. I Patented Sept. 10,1918;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Invenfir JEZnSSFuZZan,

.bd fi'ainework adjacent the UnITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

JOHN B. S. FUL'I'QN, F GHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO. UNITED STOKEBS CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS. 1

HOPPER FOR AUTOMATIC S'I OKEES.

To all whomit may concern Be iltknown that I, Jonx S. FUL'I'UNT a citizenfof-t'hc United States, residing at Chicagm-in the county of Cook and State of 6 fIllinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l-loppers for .-\,utomatic Strikers. ot' ivhich the following is'a t'ull. clear, and exact. specification.

My invention relates to mechanical stolters, 10 and the improvements hereinafter described relate more particularly to the control oi the fuel feed from the hoppcrto the grate. and tothe oonstructiim oi the hopper and row trolling mechanism.

In mechanical stoltcrsigrcat ditliculty has been experienced due to the (M'tlllL'tillIlg and burning out of parts'ot the hopper. titer-ell causing loss and 'ii'iconvenience. and also due to the coal or other fuel in the: hopper heetiiiiing'ignited and thereby interfering with its proper feed. I

Furthermore, there has been considerable difficulty;- especial'ly in horizontal types of automatic t'raveling-gradostokers, should it become necessary to stoke by handfiu obtaining direct access to the fuel on the grate in the combustion chamber. lleretofore, it has been the custom to empty the hopper and remove the front portion entirely. The object of iny invention is to overcome the dilliculties above emnnerated, and I no- J complish this by the novel ap jmratus which will be illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the following (specification In one aspect my invention consists in so mounting the front wall of a fuel hopper thattit canbe moved, with very littlejctl'orh to cutofi' the supply of fuel from the hop- (O pr to'the g.i'ate, a-nd open aspace above the Q gratesto permit direct access to the surface of thegrate in the combustion chamber In "another aspect my invention consists in so constri icting an arranging. the fuel conj5tro1 nggat. 1 d the parts of the structure 'adja e1 th to. tin heat insulating pasin the-hopper and ih ends of the gate. These passageways preferably form conduits for air streams which cuter the combustion "chamber above the surface ofthe fuel, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

shaft 14.

critic-ti to protect the portions .oi the gate that are in sain tact. w ith the fuel.

portion of the hoimer Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Application filed flctober 31v 1917. Serial No. 199,576.

assist in the combustion of the volatile inattcr driven from the fresh fuel.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a chain grate stokes equipped with my improved hopper construction;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the hopper showing the pivotally mounted front wall in horizontal position;

Fig. 3 an elevation of the interior of the metallic framework of the grate with the tircbrick orrefractory material removed; i

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the hopper end of the stoker, removed from the com hustion chamber and showing the relative position of the adjustable gate, air-cooled plates, etc;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation. on an enlarged scale of a portion of the side Wallof taken along the line 5-4) of Fig. 8;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of one ofthe air-cooled guide plates Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the plate shown in Fig. (l; and,

F ig. -8 is a sectional plan view of the guide plate and its supporting wall along the line 8-8 ot'l ig. 5.

lef'crring now to the drawings, it Will be seen that my improved hopper mechanism is shown in connection with a chain grate type of automatic stoker, the chain links-I0, supportinggrate elements 11, through the agency of, the cross bars 12. The chain links are supported on and i are driven by the sprocket wheels 13 mounted on the drive The specific structure of this chain grate and its driving and adjusting mechanismv form no part. of the invention covered cember (i, 1917', Serial Number 20 5569.

Located abovethegratre is'my am roved hopper. 'lhishopper is formed by t e side walls 1;) of the relatively stationaryiframe work, the normally inclined front walllfi, and the rear wall consisting essentially of the vertically adjustable gate 17 arid-rtheelements cooperating therewith.

The hopper front wall 16 is pivotally mounted at 18 on the lugs lti'attached tothe but form the subject.

v w all hopper side frames 15. These lugs are located so vas to support the hopper front wall slightly belowa horizontal line through its center of gravity. The front wallis secured in ,it's normal inclined position by the hooks 20, pivo'tally mounted on the side When it is desired 'to remove the fuel from the hopper or stoke the fire by hand, or permit access to the fuel on the grate in the combustion chamber, the hooks 20 are raised and the hopper front wall 16 pivots about the supporting lugs 19 until the lower portion 21 of the front wall strikes the projecting lugs 22 on the side walls, assuming the horizontal position shown in Fig. 2.

- In connection with the use of certain fuels, difiiculty is sometimes experienced due to the" air spaces in the grate bars becoming clogged with fine ashes. To remove these ashes I-have provided a series of strong steel wire brushes 24 extending across the entire front wall, and secured thereto in such a manner that the wire points will drag-into the air spaces of the grate bars a suflicient distance to keep them entirely clear. The supporting brackets 25 for these brushes are provided with means, such as slots 26, which are engaged by the bolts 23, so that the brushes may be lowered from time to time as the points become worn off. \Vhen the front wall 16 is thrown into the position shown in Fig. 2, the brushes will be raised. so as not to interferewith the hand stoking of the fire.

The gate 17 forms the main portion of the rear wall of the fuel hopper. This gate is primarily used for thepurpose of regulating the depth of the fuel upon the grate within the furnace or to vary the rate o f fuel feed. The gate is held in a suspended positioh by chains 27 attached to a shaft/or drum 28, which is rotated by the ratchet and pawl mechanism 29, operated by the lever 30, and held in adjusted position by pawl '31, (Fig. 4). This device serves as the means for raising or lowering the gate 17, as required to meet operating conditions. It

must be understood, however, that certain features of my invention are applicable to a hopper. with a stationary rear wall or a non-adjustable gate where other means are employed for adjusting the depth of fuel on the grate.

The gate consists of av box-like metallic framework 32 supporting a lining or facing 33 of fire brick or other refractory material. This firebrick coiiperates closely with the outeif surface of the arch 34. The firebrick lining 33 is held from coming indirect cont'a'ct with the metallic framework 32 by any suitable means, here shown as ribs or lugs 35 on the inner surfaces of the metallic framework, thereb fort-[ling heat insulat ng air passageways t rough which a cir l.-

'hind the plates 41 and 42, and enters tion of air is constantly maintained between the two surfaces, thus preventing transmisslon of heat from the firebrick lining (which is at all times, during operation, red hot) tion of the framework of the gate by an arrangement of plates, which providefor a circulation of air for cooling purposes. These plates, while excluding fuel from the air passageways, permit the gate to be raised or lowered without interference. The plate 40, extending across the hop ier, prevents fuel from reaching the gate mm the top. To the front edge of this plate 40 is attached the depending stationary plate 41. To the framework of the gate is attached the vertical plate 42, coiiperatin r with, and overlapping plate 41. It will, tierefore, be evident that no fuel can come in direct. con tact with the firebrick or with the upper portion of the gate proper. This is a verv vital feature, as constant trouble is experienced in other stokers due to the gate be? coming overheated, igniting the fuelin the hopper, causing itto fuse to the. gate and stop the feed of fu el.- If this burning fuel or fused mass is not quicklylpok'ed or shoveled out of the hopper, it will cause the destruction of the gate.

By my improved hopper construction, I provide heated air for the combustion of the volatile matter of the fuel within the furnace just after the fuel enters the combustion chamber. Air is admitted from the atmosphere through the openings 43 in each side wall of the hopper into the chamber formed beneath the plate 40 and above the top of the gate, thence to the passageway 44. between the plate 42 and the framework 32. The air due to the natural draft in the combustion chamber passes downwa d beof openings 45- inQI-he metallic'fi passageways 46 between the iframework of of the gate, leadlng to the heat insulatingthe gate, and thered hot firebrick linin The air continues its movement throngthese passageways in contactwiththe firebrick until it reachesjthelower edgeKOfihel, gate ad acent thecombustion -cha|nbe1'- ,-:w here the ail-{heated in its passage, is evenly" diffused over the surface of the-fuel. and

through the distilled volatile matter, there i by assisting in the combustion of the latter.

The course of the air. currents is'indicated by arrows.

Mounted in the side walls, 15 opposite-the ends of, the gate are .the removable air.

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cooled guide plates 50. These plates are I held in position insaid side walls by means of the bolts 51,}but are spaced from the side walls by'the lug 52 and flanges 52'. The

vertical edge of each plate adjacent the combustion chamberis provided with a i 7 plurality. -of slots or openings 53,,which "bustion oi the" volatile matter driven from communicate with the passageway 54 T formed-between the'iplate and the side wall. Streams, of .air-'for the purpose of cooling these guide plates, and thereby preventing. the hopper frame and the ends=of the gate "from becoming excessively heated, 1 forced byatmo'spheric pressure (due to the '1 5 through: the openings 55 intq the,passagenatural draft in thecombustionchamber) Ways 54, and thence through the openings 53 into the combustion chamber. These lastreams offair, heated in their passage the guide plates,- assist in the comthe fuel on the grate surface. Each of these guide plates is provided with a flange 56,

projecting over the edge of the grate, for

' downbetween the frames and grates before thepu'rpose of preventing fine fuel sifting it bec0mes ignited, after which no sifting will occur.

The lower corners of the gate are cut away 2115 48 so as to permit a greater amount "of fuel to be fed from the hopper to the grate surface alongeach side; The additional amount of' fuel fed along the sides :5 of the grate is so proportioned that by the time the fuel reaches the rearof the furnace the fire line is even. Therefore, there is nodanger of the side grate elements becoming bare,pr of unburned-fuel being carried over the rear throughout the central -;p0rt ion of the grate, resulting from the fasterburningof the fuelialong the sides; a

pwella known fact to all operating engineers, 1 and usuallycompensated-forby poking.

Although I haveiillustrated' and described the preferred embodiment of my invention,

its, application to a particular type of rality of wirebrushes mounted on the lowerstokeror furnace, it must be understood that many modifications and adaptations to other typeset stokers or furnaces may be made without departing-from the spirit of the invention, or its scope as set forth in the ap ended claims.

r at claim as he w is;

1. In an automafih stoker, a grate, and a hopper through which fuel is fed to the grate, said hopper being provided with a p-iv'otally mounted front wall, and a "pluside of said front wall and contacting with the upper surface ofthe grate.

2..In an automatic stoker. a grate, and a hopper through ilvhich fuel is fed to, the

grate, saidhoppci" being provided with a i pivotally .mounted -front wall, a plurality 6d, of wire brushes moi'ipted on the lower s1de of are said front wall and contactin with the upper surface of the grate, an ;means for adJfiIsting said brushes relative to said front wa i 3. "In an automatic 'stoker, a grate, and a hopper through-which fuel is fed to the grate, sa id hopper being provided with a pivotally mounted from, wall, a plurality of wire brushes mounted on the lower side of said front wall and contacting with the upper surface pf thegrate, and means for moving saidwfront wall into a, horizontal position, thereby moving; the brushes out of contact with the grate surface.

4. Inan automatic stoker, a grate and a hopper'through which ,fuel is fed to the grate, and a plurality of 'wire brushes mounted in front of the front wall of said hopper, and contacting with 'the upper surface'of the grate.

5 In an automatic sto'ker, agrate, a hopper through which fuel is fed to said grate, an adjustable gate in-said hopper for'controlling the rate of, fuel feed, one of the walls of said hopper being movable to seal the bottom of thehopper and permit direct access to the surface of the grate when the gate is open.

6. In combination, a combustion chamber, a grate, a hopper through which f uel,is fed to the gr ate,,a grate in said h0pper,*said gatebeing provided with means whereby a stream of air is fed into the combustion chamber at the surfaceof the fuel on the grate, and means permitting streams of air to enter the combustion chamber at the ends of said gate. 1, I V

7. In combination, a combustion chamber, a grate, a hopper throl'igh which fuel is fed to the grate, a gate in said hopper adjustable to vary the rate of fuel feed, and means permitting streams of air to-enter the combastion chamber. at the en'dfsof said gate adjacent to the side walls of the combustion chamber. i

8. In combination, a combustion chamber,

a grate, a hopper through which fuel is iied to said grate, a vertically adjustable gate in said hopper for varyirgg the rate of fuel feed, stationary guide pla es on the Walls of the combustion chamber at the ends of the gate, each guide plate 'beingspaced from the walls of the combustion chamber to form passageways for permittipg streams of airto pass into thecom'bustion chamber, thereby preventing said guide plates and the ends of said gate from becoming excessively heated.

9. In combination, a combustion chamber, a grate, a hopper through which fuel is fed to said grate, a gate in said hopper adjustable to vary the rate of fuel feed, and means separate from said gate for cooling the side Walls of the combustion chamber adjacent the ends of the gate.

10. In combination, a combustion cham-' ber, a grate, a hopper through which fuel is fed to said grate, agate in said hop er adsaid gate being provided with heat insulating air passageways separating the portion of the gate which is adjacent the fuel in the hopper from the remainder of the gate.

12. In an automatic stoker,-a grate, a hopper having a rear wall provided with a gate located above the grate, means for adjusting the gate vertically tovar the rate of feed of the fuel to the grate, said gate being made up of a metallic framework and a removable facing of refactory material with heat insulating passageways between the refractory material and the metallic framework, and a stationary plate overlapping said metallic framework and cooperating therewith to prevent the entrance of fuel from the hopper'into said heat insulating passageways:

13. In an automatic stoker, a horizontally Y movable grate capable of operating in a combustion chamber, a'hopper above said grate provided with a vertically adjustable gate to vary the rate feed of fuel to the surface of said grate, and means carried by' said gate whereby astream of air is supplied to the upper surface of the fuel on said grate to assist in the combustion of the volatile matter .driven' from the fuel as it enters the combustion chamber.

14. In an automatic stoker, a horizontally combustion chamber, a hopper above said grate provided with a vertically adjustable gate to vary the rate of fuel to the surface of said grate, and means carried by said gate whereby a stream of air is ,su plied to the upper surface of thefuel on sai grate to assist in the combustion of the volatile matter driven from the fuel as it enters the combustion chamber, said means including grate provided with a vertically adjustable gate to vary the rate of feed of fuel to said .grate, said gate being formed of a box -like framework comprising vertically adjustable angular metallic members provided with ribs, and a removable facing of standard fire brick mounted. upon said ribs, and clamped in position between said angular members, whereby the] refractory facing is spaced from the framework,.and insulating a 1r passages are formed which prevent excessive heating of the portion of the metallic framework which is in contact with the fuel in the hopper.

16. In an automatic stoker, a grate capable of operating in a combustion chamber,

a hopper provided with an adjustable gate to vary the rate of feed of fuel to said grate, said gate being made up of a metallic framework including vertically adjustable angular clamping members rovided with spacing ribs, and a remova le' facing of standard fire brick held between said clamping members but spaced therefrom by said ribs to form insulating air passageways between the fire brick and the metallic framework,-- thereby preventing excessive heating of that portion of the metallic framework which is in contactwith thefuel in the hoprnovable grate capable of operating 'in a p Intestimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN s.fs.' FULTON. 

